What's in comic shops Wednesday? A lot of new X-titles, the Predators comic book sequel, and the X-Files meets 30 Days Of Night. Comic-Con may be next week, but there's plenty of four-panel action on the racks.

Marvel wraps up Norman Osborn's Dark Reign in earnest tomorrow with end of Siege and its few remaining Avengers titles. Marvel's Heroic Age is upon us, but there's no Howard The Duck title on the stands. I call fowl! »5/11/10 9:00am 5/11/10 9:00am

The fix is in: In this Wednesday's second issue of Marvel Comics' Siege series, an Avenger will die! But instead of surrendering to the hype and bloodlust, we thought we'd take a look at who it may be... and why. »1/31/10 12:00pm 1/31/10 12:00pm

Iron Patriot (Norman Osborn) The villain of the piece, and former Green Goblin, Norman Osborn has already returned from the dead once to pursue ever-more-ridiculous plans for power, political and otherwise.Is he marked for death this week? No way; there're two more issues after this week's, and I don't even think… »1/31/10 11:55am 1/31/10 11:55am

Amadeus Cho The seventh (or maybe eighth, depending who's around that week) smartest person in the Marvel Universe, this genius kid has a gift for making connections where others don't and getting into trouble.Is he marked for death this week? I doubt it; he's not important enough to most people for his death to… »1/31/10 11:53am 1/31/10 11:53am

Captain America (Steve Rogers) Marvel's most famous patriot, the man who socked Hitler in the jaw and whose return signaled the end of Marvel's Dark Reign.Is he marked for death this week? In that he's literally just finished a series called Reborn where he came back from the (assumed) dead, of course not. »1/31/10 11:50am 1/31/10 11:50am

The first issue of Marvel Comics' big event, Siege, hits stores this week, bringing to a close storylines that've been going on for the last few years. But if you've missed those stories, don't worry: We're here to help. »1/07/10 9:00am 1/07/10 9:00am

Following Marvel's Civil War, the superheroes of Marvel's United States found themselves offered a choice: Either register their secret identities with the government and become federal employees, or else consider themselves criminals and be hunted down like rabid dogs if necessary. Of course, with Iron Man in charge… »1/06/10 2:27pm 1/06/10 2:27pm

Unlike Captain America and Iron Man, Thor managed to miss out on the overgrown hissy fit that was Marvel's Civil War by, essentially sleeping through it. Not that that mattered, because he had already previously fallen out with both heroes over the subject of religious freedom of a small European nation (Admittedly,… »1/06/10 2:25pm 1/06/10 2:25pm

Even though he won, Iron Man was left massively damaged by the events of Marvel's Civil War. Seen by many heroes - and even more fans - to have trended towards the fascistic in his pursuit of those who opposed the Superhero Registration Act, his placement as Director of SHIELD coincided not only with the return from… »1/06/10 2:20pm 1/06/10 2:20pm

For years, Captain America fought a terrorist organization called Hydra, whose motto was "Hail HYDRA! Immortal HYDRA! We shall never be destroyed! Cut off one limb and two more shall take its place!" Apparently, Cap learned from their example, because even though one Cap was assassinated on the steps to a courthouse… »1/06/10 2:15pm 1/06/10 2:15pm

Almost all of the status quo that Siege seeks to overturn got its start in 2006's Civil War event: Iron Man and Captain America falling out (and, in fact, coming to blows on more than one occasion)? That was here. An over-present government seeking to control the activities of superheroes? From here. Norman Osborn's… »1/06/10 1:55pm 1/06/10 1:55pm

Depending what you read, 2010's comics begin with the fictional becoming real, mythical figures becoming pawns in political power grabs, or learning to deal with post-nuclear apocalypses. Looks like it's another year of stories too close to our real lives... »1/05/10 9:00am 1/05/10 9:00am

Wondering how long it'd take for the events of September 11th to go from real life tragedy to thoughtless plot McGuffin? Marvel's new mega-event Siege demonstrates that the answer is "eight years, and we can kill even more people." »12/07/09 12:21pm 12/07/09 12:21pm